Dublin
Irish voters this week gave the European Union permission to expand eastward to include former Soviet-bloc nations. Two years ago, the other 14 E.U. nations approved a treaty that would allow it to admit Eastern European nations such as Poland, Latvia, and Hungary. Due to a quirk in its constitution, Ireland was the only European nation that required a popular vote to approve the agreement. The Irish defeated the treaty in a desultory, low-turnout vote last year, embarrassing the government. So this year the prime minister spearheaded a major pro-treaty campaign, and it won in a landslide. “The Irish people just made about 100 million friends in Central and Eastern Europe,” said one Latvian diplomat. Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller raised a pint of Guinness and sang, “I love you, Ireland!”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The real story behind the Stanford Prison ExperimentThe Explainer 'Everything you think you know is wrong' about Philip Zimbardo's infamous prison simulation
-
Is it safe for refugees to return to Syria?Talking Point European countries rapidly froze asylum claims after Assad's fall but Syrian refugees may have reason not to rush home
-
Quiz of The Week: 14 - 20 DecemberHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
